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Monday, November 12, 2012

NaNo Update: Day 12

Progress (word count or a general status update): 20,044--on pace for me, and for once my pace actually matches NaNo's pace, so I'm spot-on for today's little mark on the graph. (Anyone else obsessive about their Stats page?)

Current Mood: Elated. I had a fantastic session this afternoon in which the introduction of a (possible) murder plotline brought out Craig's sense of humor, which in turn got Bridget to open up and tell a piece of her story that so far she's only hinted at. Writing it felt like hearing it from her, rather than inventing it, and it devastated me in the best possible way.

Inspiration: My characters. Is that totally weird? I'm having the experience of characters telling me things about themselves for the first time, really. It's awesome.

Goals as of Today: Today's goal was 20,000 words, so I've met that. Just have to finish up some housework (but I got so much done this weekend! It's so nice to live someplace clean again!) and make dinner!

Recent Favorite NaNo WiP Line:

Still,
when we get in the car, I feel compelled to say something to Bridget.
I’m quiet for the first few minutes, letting Bridget control the radio
while I try to figure out how to bring it up. “Hey, I hear your
boyfriend is a crazy murderer” seems too casual. “When you’re hanging
out with Duke, does he ever talk about his hobbies? Is he into murder?”
Nah, sounds too parental and out of touch. “Heads up: Duke might try to kill you.”
That one’s somehow too direct and too vague--when? Where? How? (In the
library, with the lead pipe!) I decide to go more general. “So,
things seem to be going pretty well with you and Duke,” I open. I’m
trying to keep my tone light and not let on that I have the weirdest
conversational objective ever.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): This weekend was another good one. Our Saturday routine includes hitting a farmer's market (which, this time of year, mostly yields delicious things like local wine, chocolate, cheese, and sausage) and a local brewery that we helped fund back when it was on Kickstarter. Buffalo is a pretty great place for creative small businesses, especially culinary ones. It's nice to start finding our new community here. And we took my in-laws out to dinner to celebrate their anniversary! Sunday, we watched football as usual (and the Bills lost, as usual--at least it was close and not embarrassing) and beat the apartment back into submission. I have no idea how it gets so cluttered so quickly!

In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading: Still The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisinand The Scorpio Races by
Maggie Stiefvater. I'm thinking I might walk to the library tomorrow and look for some more novels in verse (I'm woefully behind on Ellen Hopkins!) since they read so quickly and I can get them in here and there while reading other things.

Because: Shannon has been discussing Twilight really thoughtfully (see also "In Defense of Twilight") and it's a good reminder that the knee-jerk popular reaction to a thing is rarely the best reaction. No matter what your thoughts are on the books, this is worth a read for the overall question of what books do to (for?) people.

Gratuitous Photograph:

This is Willow, who has recently discovered that heating grates are the best things she's ever seen.

8 comments:

Your pace is awesome, Jess! And I love that your characters are inspiring you. My main character is currently being a pain in the neck, so I'm envious. :) Your WiP excerpt has, once again, intrigued me. I love your main character's smart-but-sarcastic voice!

Awesome snippet! I especially loved the little Clue reference. Can't wait to get my hands on this thing. :) You're doing so well meeting your NaNo goals. I think it's fantastic that your story/characters are taking you in a totally different direction than you might have anticipated. That makes it exciting for you as the writer.

I read the one post about TWILIGHT's influence the other day and I found myself agreeing with it. I've been guilty of slamming on TWILIGHT, which I'm kind of ashamed of. Especially now that I've been working hard at writing and knowing just how challenging it can be. I do wonder how much of the TWILIGHT hating comes from Stephenie Meyer's huge success. Would people be so quick to hate on her stories if they hadn't blown up into such a huge thing?

I've definitely been guilty of TWILIGHT bashing. Doesn't mean I didn't devour the books, but I can find plenty to dislike about them. But I am grateful to Shannon Hale for asking her readers to reexamine those impulses. I think part of it for me is definitely the huge success of the books...it makes them such an easy target. Sometimes I lose confidence in the things I enjoy--I'm learning to own it with music (like my Taylor Swift obsession) but it's easier because I don't have this big part of my social life that revolves around music. But on the YA blogs, a little part of me feels like I'm in high school again, and I want to espouse the "cool" opinions. I'm definitely less susceptible to that now than I was then (hence things like linking to that blog post) but I get a little anxious when I recommend a book--what will other people think of it?

This all might become a post at some point--but not today, as I've got 1000+ more words to write!